Reference guides
Long-form explainers covering the topics the calculator surfaces. Each guide is primary-source-cited and dated.
How severance taxes actually work
Why the 22% withholding is not your tax bill, when the 37% bracket kicks in, FICA, state variation, and Section 280G in plain English.
Updated 2026-05-26 · ~3,500 words
Reading your severance agreement
A clause-by-clause walkthrough: consideration, general release, ADEA/OWBPA timing, non-compete, post-McLaren Macomb non-disparagement, IP assignment carveouts, and what to negotiate.
Updated 2026-05-26 · ~4,500 words
CEO severance memos annotated
Published severance promises from Google, Meta, Amazon, Salesforce, Snap, Stripe, and more — what was promised, what was delivered, and what patterns to use as your negotiation benchmark.
Updated 2026-05-26 · ~3,500 words
Non-compete enforceability map (2026)
State-by-state 50+DC enforceability of post-employment non-competes in 2026: bans, blue-pencil doctrine, consideration rules, recent reforms (California SB 699, Minnesota HF 3035, FTC rule litigation).
Updated 2026-05-26 · ~4,000 words
2026 WARN filing tracker
Recent WARN notices filed in California, New York, and Illinois — companies, headcounts, effective dates. Updated monthly from state agency feeds.
Updated 2026-05-26 · ~2,000 words
How to negotiate severance after a tech layoff (2026)
A concrete playbook for tech workers: what is actually negotiable (cash multiple, COBRA, equity acceleration, garden leave, non-disparagement carve-outs), the leverage points (WARN defects, OWBPA disclosure errors, group-exit math), how to use the 21-day window, and when to escalate to counsel.
Updated 2026-05-30 · ~1,400 words
Severance and unemployment benefits: when severance disqualifies you, by state
State-by-state breakdown of how severance interacts with unemployment insurance claims: where lump-sum severance does not disqualify, where it does (CA § 1255, NY § 591, TX), allocation-period rules, the lump-sum vs salary-continuation choice, and what to report on the UI application.
Updated 2026-05-30 · ~1,400 words
OWBPA group exits: 21 vs 45 days and the disclosure requirement
The OWBPA group-exit branch most calculators miss: when the 45-day window applies, the § 626(f)(1)(H) disclosure of job titles and ages, what "decisional unit" means, when the 7-day revocation clock starts, defects that void the release, and the ADEA implications.
Updated 2026-05-30 · ~1,500 words
Severance at acquisition or change of control: golden parachutes and the 280G trap
How change-of-control clauses trigger severance and equity acceleration in an acquisition, how IRC § 280G caps parachute payments at 3× base amount, the 20% excise tax under § 4999, single- vs double-trigger acceleration, cleansing techniques (shareholder approval, haircuts, the phase-out of gross-ups), and when to engage a 280G specialist.
Updated 2026-05-30 · ~1,450 words
Mass layoff disclosure obligations under WARN: what employers must tell affected workers
The federal WARN Act's 60-day advance notice requirement, the two coverage triggers, what the 29 C.F.R. § 639.7 notice content must include, state mini-WARN add-ons in California, New York, and New Jersey, the faltering-company and unforeseeable-business-circumstances exceptions, and the worker private right of action under 29 U.S.C. § 2104.
Updated 2026-05-30 · ~1,500 words
ISO 90-day exercise window: post-termination decisions on incentive stock options
The IRC § 422(a)(2) three-month rule for exercising ISOs after termination, what happens to ISO tax treatment at day 91, the AMT trap on exercise under § 56(b)(3), qualifying vs disqualifying dispositions, the cash and AMT modeling, extended-window company policies (Coinbase, Square, Pinterest), and the narrow § 83(i) deferral election.
Updated 2026-05-30 · ~1,500 words
Severance and the constructive-receipt trap: timing payments to defer income
How the IRC § 451 constructive-receipt doctrine, Treas. Reg. § 1.451-2, and § 409A interact with severance payment elections. The short-term deferral exception under Treas. Reg. § 1.409A-1(b)(4), the separation-pay exemption, lump-sum vs salary-continuation choices, the W-2 timing question, and the common employer mistakes that accelerate income recognition.
Updated 2026-05-30 · ~1,500 words
Negotiating outplacement and references as part of severance
How to value outplacement (Right Management, LHH, Challenger Gray, INTOO, Randstad RiseSmart) at $3k-$15k+ cash-equivalent, IRC § 132(d) working-condition fringe benefit exclusion from W-2 income, the defamation and negligent-misrepresentation drivers of the neutral-reference default, state reference-immunity statutes (Cal. Civ. Code § 47, Fla. Stat. § 768.095), and the written-reference negotiation.
Updated 2026-05-30 · ~1,500 words
Severance for federal employees: RIF rules, MSPB rights, and the severance-pay statute
Federal severance pay under 5 U.S.C. § 5595 and 5 CFR Part 550 Subpart G — eligibility, the week-per-year formula with age adjustment over 40, the 52-week cap. RIF procedures under 5 CFR Part 351 (competitive levels, retention registers, bump and retreat), MSPB appeal rights under 5 U.S.C. § 7701, VERA / VSIP voluntary separation programs, and why federal severance is not negotiated like private-sector severance.
Updated 2026-05-30 · ~1,500 words